Top tips to create shoppable content

There is a new trend in online content - and it's more social than you might think. Shoppable Content is content created uses blog-style video and written content that consumers can 'shop' while remaining immersed in the experience.

Kristina: Why is Shoppable Content mutually beneficial to the brand leveraging it, and the consumer shopping with it?

Marla Schimke, Vice President of Marketing, Zumobi: Shoppable Content is one of those rare marketing strategies that CMOs dream of. It has the ability to benefit both the brand leveraging it, and the consumer shopping with it. It makes purchasing more simple, fun and interactive. The consumer is presented with content in a shopping-style experience on mobile. This creative approach to merchandizing branded content like blogs or videos elicits brand loyalty and increases ROI. The best news for brands is that they do not have to create any new content, with a Microzine they can leverage their existing content.

Kristina: What are your top tips for creating Shoppable Content?

Marla: One of Shoppable Content's greatest selling points for CMOs is not just its ability to be mutually beneficial, but also how easy it is to incorporate into a mobile content marketing strategy. When they are ready to get started, the first place to look is at which of your brand's current content marketing channels are performing best--is it your branded videos? Your digital catalogs? Your social media? Or maybe it's your blog. Or maybe you don't know. Analytics don't lie, and neither do your consumers, so get the most out of their interests and enhance your content with shoppable links that lead consumers directly from content to shopping cart through a Microzine. Brands can incorporate all of their content outlets into one innovative experience through a mobile content marketing platform that actually provides data on the best performing content from views to engagement metrics.

Kristina: Why do retailers that incorporate Shoppable Content into their marketing strategy have a competitive advantage?

Marla: Thanks to Shoppable Content's ability to enhance the mobile user's shopping experience, CMOs who leverage their mobile content marketing to get into the Shoppable Content game early will be the first ones to reap the rewards. Shoppable Content makes online shopping not only quick and convenient--its previous big selling point--but also fun and interactive. Shoppable Content also combats ad blocking, a huge global issue for CMOs that caused an estimated loss of $21.8 billon globally of revenue last year. Microzines can be accessed on the go as users have the freedom and flexibility to engage with brands on a more personal level receiving the most interesting products in an interactive way that leads to activation and conversion.